Caroline's post

Caroline Burlingham

English

H. Salsich

January 6, 2009

Betrayed by a Brother:

A paragraph on One Theme of the Shakespearian Play “The Tempest”

 

 As I have learned in the Shakespearian play, The Tempest, nothing positive will ever come out of treachery and betrayal, only broken lives, broken families, and years of guilt.  When one has “a brother [ ] so perfidious” as Prospero, treason is bound to happen. Prospero’s brother, Antonio, was put in a high political position because Prospero loved him, but as soon as Prospero began to fade, his brother thought of it as an opportunity. Prospero became unfamiliar with his people, and his brother began to feel like the true duke of Milan. When Prospero said, “The government I cast upon my brother and to my state grew stranger,” he begins to tell the audience and his daughter how his brother became empowered. Although he was the duke, his brother was just one step away from being on top. Antonio betrayed his brother and country to get what he wanted and thought nothing of it.  When Prospero says the words, “Thy false uncle,” he tells his daughter, Miranda, that appearances can be deceiving. His own brother, the one he had spent his Antonio could make their deaths look like and accident. Miranda and her father have spent years trapped on a small island, their lives ruined so far, but deep down, I think that Antonio is full of guilt, and that he also feels trapped and alone.